The Big Four Take Hogwarts
by owlgirl16
Summary: Long before Harry Potter, four children met at a certain school of magic and would make history. Their names? Jack Frost, Merida Dunbroch, Hiccup Haddock, and Rapunzel Corona. Hogwarts wouldn't know what hit them. ROBTD
1. YEAR ONE

**Disclaimer: I only borrow these characters, they do not belong to me.**

It was quiet in the town of Burgess as the hot morning sun rose steadily in the July sky. Adults sat on their front porches sipping tea and watching their children laugh and play. Everything was perfectly normal and happy.

The only unsettling aspect of that fine morning was the the arrival of a stranger, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He had no horse, no carriage, no suitcase, and no apparent reason for being in Burgess, which was hardly a tourist attraction. Strangers were unwelcome in the close knit community that had been there for generations both in times of peace and war.

This particular stranger looked odd as well, with his massive size and long red cloak fringed in black fur. When he was spotted moving in the direction of a red brick house on Alder Road, intense whispers erupted among the neighbors. They all hoped there wouldn't be any trouble: the poor woman in number 16 didn't deserve any more trouble. Her husband had passed away a few years prior, leaving her to raise two young children by herself.

Still, the neighbors whispered.

He knocked on the door and a tiny, dark haired girl opened it in the middle of a laugh that died when she saw the enormous stranger.

"Hello, miss," said the man gruffly. "Are your parents home?"

The little girl trembled and nodded slowly. "My mummy is."

"Could you get her for me?"

She vanished into the house and reappeared moments later with her mother, a kindly looking woman wearing a stained apron and a worried expression.

The stranger bowed slightly. "Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Mrs. Frost?"

"Yes." said Mrs. Frost, wary but not impolite.

"My name is Professor North, and I am the Headmaster of a very unique school that has taken an interest in your son."

Mrs. Frost blinked in confusion. "In Jack? But I haven't applied him for any school."

"Actually, he's been on our list since birth," said Professor North. "Maybe it'd be better if I came in?"

She was hesitant, but reluctantly let him inside. It was a cozy little house that smelled like cookies and hot tea, with muddy footprints on the floor and a broken vase on the counter. Mrs. Frost sighed, but she ignored the mess and focused instead on her guest.

"How has my son been on a list since birth?" she asked when they were settled. "And what kind of school is this anyway?"

Professor North's eyes twinkled. "It's a school of magic."

There was a moment of silence in the cabin. Then, "Excuse me?"

"I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." said the man grandly. "And your son is a wizard, which means he'll be right at home. So if I could just see him-"

"Absolutely not," said Mrs. Frost firmly. Her voice was cold and only her trembling lip gave away her emotion. "This is completely ridiculous. How dare you come in here and claim my son has 'magic powers'?"

"I think we both know that I'm speaking the truth," said the professor softly. "Even though it may hurt, you should look at the facts."

"What facts? This is preposterous!"

Professor North turned his head slightly. "Shouldn't you at least let your son into our discussion? It does concern his future, after all."

"You must be crazy."

The man looked at the window to his right and at the thick navy curtains that rustled ever so slightly. "But he's already listening."

Mrs. Frost followed his gaze and pulled back the fabric, revealing a young boy with dark hair and ice blue eyes. "Jackson Overland Frost! Were you eavesdropping?!"

Jack's face was glowing. "Am I really a wizard?" He went directly to the professor, who smiled kindly at him.

"Have you ever done something that couldn't be explained? When you were angry or excited or scared?"

Jack glanced sideways at the pieces of glass still on the table from the shattered vase and reddened slightly. His mother looked surprised and then upset. "I thought you said that wasn't happening anymore."

"I tried," said Jack sheepishly. "But it was an accident! I swear!"

Professor North ruffled his hair gently. "At Hogwarts, we'll teach you how to control magic, so you don't hurt yourself or others." He looked closely at the boy's face and smiled sadly. "You have your father's eyes."

"My father was a wizard?!"

"Yes, and a very good one at that." said Professor North, looking at Mrs. Frost when he spoke. Her face was a portrait of grief.

Jack didn't appear to notice the exchange. "Are you a wizard too?"

"Of course!" laughed the old man, taking a thin, honey colored stick from his pocket. He waved it a few times and the vase repaired itself instantly. Another flick and the dead irises became full and purple again. Mrs. Frost gasped and dropped her spoon to the ground with a sharp clang.

"I'm telling the truth, you know." said the Headmaster with a wink, and he pulled out a letter from another pocket. "This is for you, my dear boy."

Jack quickly ripped it open and pulled out the yellowish parchment inside and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Nicholas North

Dear Mr. Frost,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Sincerely,

Edna Mode

_Deputy Headmistress _

He set down the paper with a thousand questions exploding in his head and excitement coursing through his veins. "How do I send an owl? I want to go!"

His mother looked at him sadly. "I knew that you would," she whispered. It seemed that the letter had turned her anger into understanding. "But I'll miss you."

"I won't...I won't be living here?"

"Hogwarts is far away," said Professor North. "You can see your family over Christmas and Easter. I know that doesn't seem like much, but it'll be worth it."

Jack hugged his mother and then his sister, who had been standing at the door, unable to speak. "Rosie..."

"This isn't another trick, is it?" asked the little girl, with big hopeful eyes. "I don't want you to go."

He laughed. "I'll miss you too. But I'm not going yet!"

Professor North tapped him on the shoulder. "While I'm here, we're going to need to get your supplies. Can I borrow him for the rest of the day?"

"Will he be home for supper?" asked Mrs. Frost, after a moment of thought.

"Yes, ma'am." Professor North bowed his head again and turned to his newest student. "Ready to go to London?"

"London?"

"There's a special street in London where you can buy magic supplies," said the man with a grin. "It's called Diagon Alley."

OoO

A young girl sat alone in her bedroom, counting the minutes as they passed. She had spent the last few hours painting and drawing and doodling, and was now waiting for the sun to set from her bed. Life was a blur of sleeping, eating, and in between. The familiar sound of her mother's footsteps didn't even shake her from her lethargic state. Life outside seemed so wonderful and warm and bright; she could hardly stand being cooped up any longer.

"Rapunzel, darling, let down your hair. It looks awful tied in a bun like that." Rapunzel's mother entered grandly, eyes gleaming sharply and cranberry cloak slithering on the freshly polished floor.

Rapunzel flushed and started to take down her intricate braids, but her mother waved her hand. "I'm just teasing, my dear. You know I love you."

"Of course, mother." said Rapunzel, climbing down from the bed to embrace her. The hug was a little too long and a little too forced, but the newly-turned eleven year old was happy not to be alone. "How was your day?"

"Same as always." But something was not the same. Madam Gothel was nervous and jumpy in a manner that absolutely didn't suit her.

Rapunzel looked at her mother with wide, green eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes..." said Madam Gothel absently, before her face hardened. "Actually, there is something on my mind." the older woman pursed her lips and clasped her hand around a piece of thick parchment in her pocket. "Although I suppose it does concern you. Try not to worry too much, my darling. Mummy will handle this." Madam Gothel gave the envelope to her daughter.

Ms. R. Corona, Room-at-the-Top, Tower-in-the-Field, was written in royal blue and there was a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a badger, a snake, a lion, and an eagle around the letter _H_. Butterflies flew around in Rapunzel's stomach. Could this really be it?

She opened it, fingers trembling and breath shaking. "Hogwarts... it's like a dream!"

"More like a nightmare," scoffed Madam Gothel. "I spent the worst seven years of my life there in that nasty castle and nasty dungeon." She sniffed. "You simply cannot go; it's far too dangerous."

"But mother-"

Madam Gothel's eyebrows shot up. "You _want_ to run off and leave your poor mother alone? After all I've done for you?"

"You wouldn't have to be alone," said Rapunzel shyly. "You could always move down to the village-"

"Oh goodness gracious, there are far too many people in that dirty village. And too many mudbloods as well, just like you'll find in that sorry excuse for a school." Madam Gothel clapped her hands. "That settles it, then. You're not going."

"Mother, please." Rapunzel begged. "I want to go to Hogwarts! More than anything!"

That stopped Madam Gothel in her tracks. "More than anything?" she said slowly.

"I want to meet new people and learn magic-"

"_I _could teach you magic! I've taught you some already, and you won't learn anything like that there."

Rapunzel's lip trembled. The chance for freedom and adventure was so close she could almost taste it. "Don't you think I'm ready?"

Immediately, Madam Gothel was at her side. "Of course, darling, but I just want you to be safe and happy. If you think Hogwarts of all places would make you happy..."

"It would! It really would!" Rapunzel jumped into the air, her face filled with delight. "When will we go shopping? Today? Oh mother, let's go today!"

Madam Gothel had a dark look in her eye. "No, Rapunzel. Not today. I must prepare a few things first. In a week, I'll take you to Diagon Alley." she sounded bitter, but forced a smile on her face for her beaming daughter. "I've got to go out again my dear. Fix up dinner, alright?"

"I'd love to!" Nothing could bring her down at that point. Rapunzel Corona was going to Hogwarts!

OoO

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III wondered vaguely if the owls would be able to get through the heavy rains that permeated the air around Berk. They had for as long as he could remember, but this storm seemed particularly nasty. He didn't know why he was so excited for a piece of paper containing a message he already knew. He didn't know why he was so excited to get away, when five of his neighbors would be coming along as well.

There was a loud bellow from outside, "DRAGONS!", and then a rush to fetch wands. The people of his village were known for their incredible, destructive spellwork, which was useful when dragons attacked frequently. Very frequently.

Hiccup ran outside to watch, and see if he could help somehow, which he knew in the back of his mind was ridiculous, but it didn't matter. Hogwarts was where he would learn the spells needed to kill a dragon. You weren't worth anything in Berk if you couldn't kill a dragon.

Apparently, the attack wasn't too difficult to handle, because the dragons were gone within a few minutes.

"That's how we handle it, right boys and girls?" boomed Hiccup's father to the crowd of cheering wizards, all riled up and ready to fight again.

Stoick Haddock was massively built, with enormous muscles and a curly auburn beard. He was impatient, stubborn, tough, and an absolute demon with a wand. And when wands didn't work, he was more than willing to pick up an axe and get down to business.

The sound of fluttering wings made everyone stop again and look at the cloudy sky. Stoick squinted before his lips curved into a smile. "The owls have arrived!"

A great cheer erupted and the six children who would be starting Hogwarts that year stepped forward eagerly. Six owls flew down and found their respective owners, letters in beak. Hiccup cut his open neatly and read the words he already knew by heart.

"Let's celebrate the next set of dragon wizards!" roared Stoick, clapping his skinny son on the back. "Drinks are on me!"

The village yelled in pleasure and surged forward. Hiccup noticed a certain girl still reading her letter in the back and he slowed his speed. "Hey Astrid, are you excited?"

"Of course I'm excited," she snapped. "I just want to make sure I get into Gryffindor, that's all."

Hiccup's stomach lurched. He'd forgotten about the sorting!

"Do you...Do you know how they sort us?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "That's part of tradition. We're not _supposed_ to know. Anyway, it can't be too dangerous. Muggle-borns go too, you know."

"I'm not nervous at all!" Hiccup attempted to laugh, but Astrid didn't smile.

"Going to Hogwarts is a big step." she said seriously. "We'll learn how to fight dragons and defend our village."

They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until Hiccup burst out, "What else do they teach there?"

"What?"

"Are there other classes?"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but they don't really matter, do they? All that matters is Professor Gobber's class."

Professor Gobber was practically legend in their village. He was so good at defensive magic that he stayed on as a teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, or as it was known in Berk, Dragon Fighting 101.

"That makes perfect sense. Only pay attention in one class. Great idea."

Suddenly Astrid was in his face. "Do you think this is some kind of joke? We all know you have the most to learn, Hiccup. Stop messing around." Then they reached the big room and parted ways in the nearly drunken crowd.

Hiccup could still smell the strawberries from her hair, and was lost in imagination for a moment before coming to his senses. Astrid Hofferson was the prettiest, strongest girl in the village and wouldn't look twice at a shrimp like him, even if he was the son of the village leader.

"There you are, son!" bellowed Stoick, after letting out an impressive burp. "Come on, take a swig!"

"I'm fine."

"More for me, then!" Clearly, Stoick was pleased that his son would be under someone else's tutelage for a while. "You'll love Hogwarts. Everyone loves Hogwarts!"

Hiccup grinned and tried to enjoy the enormous piece of meat in front of him, but his stomach was still twisting.

Did he have what it took to be a dragon wizard?

OoO

As each day in July passed, Merida Dunbroch became more and more impatient. _When_ was her letter going to arrive? The idea that she would finally be getting away from her mum's stiff rules and pureblood expectations pushed her to keep on waiting and ignore pleas from other schools. Lady Elinor Dunbroch chastised her daughter over this very matter during a tense dinner.

"Beauxbaton is a lovely school; I don't understand why you refuse to consider it!"

Merida rolled her eyes. "I'm not even French!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," said Lady Elinor, setting down her fork gracefully. "And don't roll your eyes, either. Perhaps you should consider the Well-Mannered Witch Institute."

"I don't want to go to an all-girl's prep school! And they don't even have an archery team!"

Her father, Lord Fergus Dunbroch, grinned. "She's right. Hogwarts has the best archery team in the world, Elinor."

"You can't pick a school because of athletics."

Merida sighed loudly. "You went to Hogwarts, didn't you? And dad! Now it's my turn!"

"Elinor, let her be." said Fergus when his wife opened her mouth to argue. "Hogwarts is a fine school!" He looked at his daughter with a twinkle in his eye. "And speaking of Hogwarts, a certain letter was delivered today."

Merida gasped and leapt out of her chair. "It came?!" She ran over to her father and ripped open the thick letter without hesitation.

"Dear Miss Dunbroch..." She stopped and beamed. "I can't believe it!"

"I suppose you'll want to go shopping, then." Lady Elinor's exasperated look melted into a fond smile. "That'll be fun, won't it? Getting a wand and everything. I was planning to go sometime next week anyway."

Merida's smile was so wide, her face almost cracked in two. "A real wand...I'm going to get a wand!" And she charged out of the dining room enthusiastically, curls bouncing all over the place.

"I'm going to Hogwarts!"

OoO

**Hello there. I've put together this story after seeing loads of fan-art and enjoying it immensely. To those who are interested in my Naruto fan fiction, I'm sorry, but this takes first priority now. **

**A few items that may interest you, my darling reader. 1) Updates will be weekly for Year One at least, no exception unless emergency. 2) This takes place in the 1880s-90s, but there are a few instances of non-canon timeline and some language that is not period. My apologies. 3) I have not, as of yet, decided on pairings. Everything is fair game :)**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**owlgirl16 **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Only a few bits belong to me :)**

Jack had never been to London before. The city was exploding with people and horses and shops, but Professor North seemed to know where he was going. They twisted and turned sharply until finally ending up on a slow moving street with a small but clean pub.

"That'll be the Leaky Cauldron. They just refurnished it." said Professor North, steering him inside. "Muggles can't see the place."

"Muggles?"

"Non magic folk, like your mum and sister."

The interior was lit up by at least a hundred flickering candles and the polished tables glinted in their light. There were a few people sitting around, chatting, and having a late breakfast, and nearly all of them gave North a wave. The pair walked straight through and out into a small, walled courtyard with a bed of flowers.

"Are you ready, Jack?" asked North, grinning and taking out his wand. "Two across and three up... stand back, now." He tapped the wall three times and the brick wiggled. A hole appeared in the middle and grew larger and larger until it was tall and wide enough for even North to go through. On the other side was a thin, cobbled street that stretched on out of sight.

Jack stared, mouth agape and unable to speak. North smiled nostalgically at his wonder, as if remembering every student he'd ever taken. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

They stepped through the archway and it knitted itself back together instantly behind them. The nearest shop had shining pots of every size and color sitting out in front.

"Are those-?"

"Cauldrons, yes." North slowed his stride so Jack wouldn't fall behind. "But you'll have to get money first."

Jack felt his face grow red, thinking of their small cottage and his worn clothing. "I don't think we've got much of that..."

"Ah, well, maybe not much Muggle money," conceded North. "But your father left behind enough for you and your sister, if she ends up being a witch."

Jack nodded, relieved, and spent the rest of the walk looking in every direction, eyes glowing with excitement. He couldn't decide what was more interesting: the shops or the people shopping. They passed stores that sold everything from robes to owls to barrels of fungus to potion bottles and everything. It was like an extraordinary dream.

"Here we are," said North, stopping at an enormous, snowy white building made of marble that loomed over the rest of the shops. "Gringotts. Wizarding Bank."

They passed through shining bronze doors and short man with a twisted face wearing scarlet and gold. Jack's eyes widened and he started to open his mouth, but North gave him a silencing look. "That's a goblin. Don't ever mess with them."

Inside the massive hall, hundreds of goblins were sitting in high stools or leading people around. North approached a free goblin.

"Morning. We would like to take money from Mr. Jonathon Frost's safe."

Jack heard his father's name with a slight pang to the heart, but also a wave of curiosity, as the goblin led them through a door into a narrow stone passageway. They climbed into a small cart and plunged into the cold air. Jack let out a whoop of delight and raised his arms up, laughing loudly as they hurtled around, before finally stopping.

The goblin stepped out first and unlocked the door, then beckoned them inside. Little hills of gold, silver, and bronze coins glinted merrily; it didn't look like a fortune, but it was the most money Jack had ever seen in his life. North helped him grab some from the pile, enough for the year and then some, and they rode back out of the bank.

After getting robes, parchment and quills, books, and other supplies on the list, it was time for the most exciting part: a magic wand.

The last shop was narrow and shabby looking, with peeling gold letters that read- Ollivander's: Making of Fine Wands since 382 BC. It was tiny inside and a bell tinkled as they opened the door. Thousands of slender boxes were piled up to the ceiling in neat rows.

"Good afternoon, sirs." An ancient man stepped out of the shadows, the wrinkles in his face like valleys.

Jack stood awkwardly in the center of the shop. "Same to you."

"It seems only yesterday your father was in here, buying his wand." The man sighed, silver eyes turned to the ground. "I'm getting too old for this, Nicholas."

North sighed as well. "I know the feeling."

"But who will succeed me? My aging son? My newly married grandson?" Ollivander examined Jack with a critical, expert eye. "Let's get you fit, Mr. Frost."

A skinny tape measure took precise measurements from every angle and direction, floating around without assistance from the old man, who was busy picking up boxes and putting them away again.

"How about...Mahogany and dragon heartstring, twelve inches. Pliable."

Jack took the thin stick and raised it up, before Ollivander snatched it away. "Close, but not quite. Dogwood and phoenix feather, ten and a quarter. Flexible."

This time, when he lifted the wand, there was a violent reaction, causing a jet of smoke to blast into the side table. Ollivander laughed lightly. "We'll stay away from phoenix feathers, I think."

They tested a yew wand then a spruce wand and finally the old man looked excited. "Pine and dragon heartstring, eleven inches. Adaptable."

Jack touched the sleek wood nervously and held it high. A cool, refreshing breeze washed over him, like lemonade on a boiling summer day, and a shower of icy sparks rained down,

"Looks like we have a winner!" said Ollivander, smiling at him. "I think the two of you will be a great match."

OoO

On a brilliant, sunny day later that week, Rapunzel found herself surrounded by other people and crowds for the first time in her life. If Madam Gothel was hoping this would dissuade her daughter from wanting to attend Hogwarts,, she was horribly mistaken. Rapunzel was a shining bundle of joy that made everyone else smile when they saw her walk by, although Madam Gothel's expression generally erased the joy quickly.

Back in the Laky Cauldron, the older woman had ordered herself a strong rum to get through the day, but even the alcohol did little to improve her mood. When they reached the first stop, Hobble's, for textbooks, Rapunzel took a closer look at the supply list she had also received:

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black)

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all student's clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_ Objects in the Night Sky _by Orion Celestas

_ Five-hundred Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Azaleus Spore

_ Charms for the Beginning Student _by Feste Jocund

_ The Evil Among Us _by Perra Noiya

_ First English Standard Spells _by Edward Goshawk

_ The Art of Potion Brewing I _by Druzella Draft

_ A Comprehensive Look at Wizarding History _by Allen Fitzpatrick

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring any approved animal as a pet.

Once she finished reading, the store assistant was already pulling books off shelves. "First year Hogwarts?"

"Yes sir." said Rapunzel, suddenly shy.

The young man smiled and gave her the stack. "You'll have a great time. Everyone does."

Madam Gothel coughed and pulled out her wallet pointedly. "We can't dawdle, Rapunzel. There's a great deal to buy."

"Alright." said Rapunzel, waving goodbye and putting her new books in her now very heavy bag,

Next was the Apothecary, and then cauldrons, ink, quills, and parchment. As Madam Gothel's irritation grew, so did Rapunzel's blissful excitement. Finally, the older woman sent her daughter alone into Madam Cramp's Specialty Robe Shop for her uniform. Madam Cramp was a tall, willowy witch with silky crimson robes and a toothy smile.

"Hello, darling. Hogwarts?"

Rapunzel nodded.

"There's another girl in the back, getting pinned up." the witch said, escorting her client to the other end of the store. "Just stand right here and you'l be taken care of." Madam Cramp gestured to a stool and slipped a long piece of black fabric over her head.

The girl beside her had straight black hair covering her face like a lampshade and was very skinny. Rapunzel smiled brightly. "Hello! Are you going to Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes." came the whispered response.

Rapunzel tried again. "My name is Rapunzel Corona, what's yours?"

"V-Violet P-Parr."

The rest of the fitting was silent and for the first time, Rapunzel felt a seed of doubt. Was there something wrong with her? What if Hogwarts was just as bad as her mother said it was?

She was shaken out of these gloomy thoughts by a pat on the back signaling she was done.

"I'll see you at school, then." said Rapunzel, but Violet was staring at the street in horror.

Rapunzel followed her gaze and her heart stopped. Her mother was facing a large, blond man with a dangerous look in her eye and wand in hand. She ran outside nearly in sync with Violet.

"Mother!"

"Dad!"

The two adults didn't look at their children. "You say that again!" shouted Mr. Parr, red in the face.

"Gladly," said Madam Gothel coldly. "I told your filthy mudblood wife to watch where she's going."

BANG! Mr. Parr shot a jet of light at her, which she expertly dodged. "Still clumsy as ever, Robert."

"Bob, please." The woman beside him looked pale but determined. "Not now."

"Helen-"

"Not now." She looked pointedly at the two terrified girls and the crowd of curious shoppers around them.

Madam Gothel smiled cruelly. "Noble, arrogant Gryffindors. Not much has changed."

"And you're still a slimy snake." shot back Mr. Parr, before taking his daughter's hand roughly and storming away.

Gothel sighed in annoyance, but put her wand away slowly. "It would be _so_ easy to curse him with his back turned. Foolish man, thinking he is invincible."

"Please don't," said Rapunzel quietly, tears building up in her green eyes. "Can we just get my robes and wand and go?"

"Where's all that excitement from earlier, darling? You're going to have to get used to nasty people like that at Hogwarts." But since Gothel had wanted to leave ever since they got there, she took her shaken daughter to their final destination: Ollivander's.

They entered the dim shop and were greeted by an old man with full moon eyes that stared right through the soul. "Good afternoon."

"Yes, yes." said Gothel absently. "Could this be done rather quickly? We can't waste the whole day trying a thousand wands out."

The ancient Ollivander looked amused rather than insulted and measured Rapunzel's arm. "Let's try..." He grabbed a skinny box from the wall. "Hazel and Unicorn hair, nine inches. Springy."

Rapunzel took the wand but Ollivander shook his head. "Almost. How about willow and unicorn hair, nine and a half inches. Loyal."

She didn't know how a wand was supposed to be loyal, but held it up anyway. A warmth filed her body and she couldn't help but smile when golden sparkles showered down.

Ollivander clapped his hands. "It's your lucky day. That was one of the easiest wands I've ever done. It seems it was meant to be, Miss Corona."

"Thank goodness." sighed Gothel, paying for the wand and exiting quickly. Rapunzel followed slowly behind her, mesmerized by the shiny, golden wand that belonged to _her_.

OoO

There was a loud argument going on in the Owl Emporium that same sunny day, between two extraordinarily stubborn people.

"But _Mum_, I _want_ one!"

"You can use a school owl, if you must! I see no need!"

"No need?!"

The matter of debate was over a beautiful, regal looking owl with glossy black feathers and a haughty expression. Merida had fallen in love; the owl had nearly clawed her mother's eyes out. They were at a bit of a standstill.

"That... _thing_ is far too dangerous. I cannot allow it in the house!"

Merida sighed in exasperation. "But it would only be in the house, like, three months in the year! He'll come with me to Hogwarts and be my pet!"

Other customers were starting to stare.

"It'll just make a mess when it delivers your letters!"

"I'll clean up after it and feed it and everything!" exclaimed Merida, throwing her hands up in the air and nearly knocking a tiny, tennis ball sized owl off its post. "And this'll teach me to be more responsible! Aren't I supposed to be learning how to be responsible?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then it's settled!" Merida crossed her arms.

Lady Elinor rolled her eyes. "It is _not_ settled!" she hissed, trying not to make a scene. Unfortunately for her, her daughter was about as subtle as a firework display.

"You just don't want me to be happy!"

"Merida, you are being ridiculous."

Merida scrunched up her freckled face. "First you don't want me to go to Hogwarts, and now you don't want me to have an owl."

"Why not a more sensible pet? I've always thought toads were handsome."

"Toads are so boring!"

Fergus, who had been standing awkwardly off to the side, looking too big to fit into the tiny shop, cleared his throat. "Elinor, I don't see why she can't-"

"Is everyone against me?!"

He touched her arm gently. "She's growing up. I think an owl is the most practical thing she's asked for in a long time."

Lady Elinor was silent and she closed her eyes. "Fine."

"Yes!"

"But if I see-"

"Thank you, Mum!"

"-one single stain-"

"Thank you, thank you!"

"-on my carpet-"

Merida hugged her mother tightly, stopping the rant. "I'm going to name him Angus." she decided, peering into her owl's piercing eyes. "Doesn't he look like an Angus?"

"It's your choice, dear." said Lady Elinor a little stiffly, as they walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

There was a sudden roar of recognition, just as they passed under the leaves of a sprawling oak tree, and Merida looked up quickly to see her dad embracing another enormous man like a brother.

"Fergus!"

"Stoick!"

The man Stoick had bulging muscles and a curly red beard that was close in color to her father's scruffy mustache. Merida vaguely recognized him as being some sort of distant, pureblood cousin that she might have met at a party in her youth.

"It's been too long, my friend." said Stoick gruffly, patting him on the back. "What brings you to this strange, busy town?"

"M' daughter, Merida, starts Hogwarts this September." Fergus pulled her forward proudly.

Stoick's eyes lit up. "My son just turned eleven as well!" He said excitedly, gesturing towards a small figure Merida hadn't noticed before.

He was shrimpy and short compared to his father, or compared to anyone, really. His dark brown hair was swept messily over his face and his rubbery nose stuck out of a face still burdened with baby fat. In the light, Merida couldn't tell if his eyes were grey or green as they tiredly flicked around. He looked like a squinter.

"Merida, this is Hiccup. He'll be in your grade at Hogwarts." said Elinor, who clearly hadn't forgotten that the two children were the same age.

"And hopefully the same house as well, right my boy?" roared Stoick, clapping his son so hard he almost fell over.

Merida looked at him dubiously. It was obvious to her that she would be a Gryffindor, even though her mother hoped otherwise, but would this scrawny kid be in the house of the brave? Honestly, he looked more like a Hufflepuff.

"I'm sure they'll be great friends." said Elinor, looking longingly at the exit a few steps ahead.

There were a few more shouts and declarations of brotherly love and boasting and the like before the Dunbroch family finally departed. That whole time, Merida couldn't help but think about the skinny boy named Hiccup and wondered if they could actually be friends.

OoO

The trip hadn't been going well for Hiccup at all. First, he managed to accidentally knock over a barrel of eel eyes and caused a riot in the store. Then, he ran into a scary woman with her back turned, who proceeded to blame a poor woman who happened to be in front of her. To make matters worse, a duel almost started after the scary woman called her a "filthy mudblood" and her husband jumped in to defend her.

Not a great start.

Hiccup struggled with a very heavy bag after getting all of the required textbooks; the Astronomy and History books must have weighed as much as a small child each. His father probably could've lifted something that heavy in his sleep, but Hiccup and his father were very different people.

Still, he couldn't wait to dive into the world of magic, far away from Berk. He decided that he was going to start reading his textbooks as soon as he got home, just to make sure he was prepared. Maybe he could finally become a dragon slayer and prove everyone wrong.

Or maybe he would fail miserably and be banished to live with the Muggles. He'd heard stories about people that were so bad at magic they were asked to leave Hogwarts.

"Come on, boy! What're you dawdling around for?!" Stoick's steps were more like leaps, and unless Hiccup jogged behind his father, he would fall behind. "We've still got to get your robes and stuff!"

"Coming, coming." said Hiccup, for what felt like the thousandth time. He kept getting distracted by the vendors off to the side, with their smoking pots and shining jewels. Sure, he knew better than to buy any of it, but it was still fun to look.

"Would you like to have your fortune read, my dear?"

Hiccup turned around and saw a withered old woman in emerald robes that was sitting alone at a small table. His instincts screamed at him to walk away quickly, politely refuse... but there was something in her eyes that made him come closer. "My fortune?"

"You seem to be close to a crossroads," said the old woman, whose sign read: Madam T's Fortunetelling. "I think I could help you make a decision."

"About what?"

She smiled mysteriously. "That part is a surprise."

Against his better judgement, Hiccup sat down and Madam T examined his palm closely. "You wish to forge your own path and make a name for yourself."

He did?

"You may not realize it yet, but that will become clear soon enough. I know you dislike your wand now because it's different, but it fits you perfectly. It will fit you perfectly."

Hiccup tensed up a bit. How did she know about his wand? How did she know how disappointed his father was when no wand with dragon heartstring picked him? Maybe this woman _was_ the real deal.

Madam T bent his hand the other way. "My word of advice is to find new companions, who each embody what your new destination has to offer." she said calmly. "And also to be careful around flames."

"That's hard when your family is made up of dragon wizards." muttered Hiccup, but Madam T just smiled knowingly at him and stood.

"That's all."

"How much do you want?"

She waved him away. "Free of charge. Consider it a gift, from me to you." Madam T peered down the street. "You'd better catch up with your father. I don't think he noticed you left."

Hiccup jumped and looked wildly around. The woman was right; his father had vanished from sight. "Thank you!" He called, running down the winding road.

Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find a man who towered over everybody else in the crowd, but Hiccup didn't expect to find his father hugging another red haired man, almost equally as large. They were in the middle of a conversation, and he didn't pay much attention until-

"My son just turned eleven as well!"

Hiccup blinked. Was that...? He groaned inwardly. _Of course_ it was Merida Dunbroch, his cousin that was meaner, tougher, and scarier than anyone his age in Berk. How had he forgotten that she was the same age as him?

"Merida, this is Hiccup. He'll be in your grade at Hogwarts." And there was his Aunt Elinor, possibly the only rational woman in the family, reminding her daughter they had met before.

Then his father clapped him on the back so hard his knees buckled. "And hopefully the same house as well, right my boy?"

Hiccup's stomach turned at the thought, but didn't say anything. Judging by the expression on his cousin's face, she was thinking about the same thing as him. Merida looked about the same: tall with bright blue eyes, frizzy red hair, and a mean, haughty expression.

Aunt Elinor was staring at the exit, eager to leave; Hiccup wished he could go with her. "I'm sure they'll be great friends." she said absently.

Hiccup highly doubted this, but waved goodbye anyway. All while he was getting poked and prodded for robes, he thought about what the fortuneteller had said earlier, about being at crossroads. The idea terrified him, that he was about to make a decision that would change his life. But then, wasn't going to Hogwarts a new era for everyone?

OoO

**Hello, happy Tuesday (in the United States, at least.) Hope you enjoyed chapter two and will do me a favor and send a review. Question of the week:**

**Who is your favorite member of the Big Four?**

**Thanks for stopping by!**

**owlgirl16**


	3. Chapter 3

Jack didn't think that September 1st would _actually_ come. He'd been anticipating and dreading the moment for almost a month; he would have to leave his mother and sister. When the morning finally dawned, Jack couldn't look into his mother's watery eyes or even at Rosie's smile, knowing it would be the last time seeing them until Christmas.

King's Cross Station was flooded with people, all walking quickly with purpose. Jack held up the little ticket he had gotten from Professor North and looked at it carefully. "It says... Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

His mother frowned at him. "What did you say?"

"Platform Nine and Three Quarters."

Rosie laughed. "That doesn't exist, silly! Look, there's Nine and Ten, but nothing in between!"

A cold feeling settled in Jack's stomach. Here he was, in the middle of London, with a trunk full of wizard tools and magical coins and he didn't even know how to get on the platform.

"I don't know," said Jack, furrowing his brows as he stared into space. "Mum, did Dad ever say anything about it?"

As it always did when Mr. Frost was mentioned, his mother's lip trembled. "No. We never... we never talked about... Hogwarts."

Just as Jack felt like drowning in hopelessness, he saw a crowd of rough looking people, all with trunks, talking animatedly and coming in their direction. They were all muscular, with weathered skin and mean expressions, but it was the cages of owls that were most peculiar.

"-just came in last night to send them off to Hogwarts-"

They were wizards!

Jack searched desperately for a friendly face in the crowd, but they were all pointedly ignoring the ordinary Muggles around them... all except one.

He was the shortest and scrawniest in the group, with curious eyes that met Jack's.

"Are you going to Hogwarts?" The words tripped out of Jack's mouth in a mad rush, but the other boy didn't look surprised.

"Yeah," He glanced at the Frost family. "Don't know how to get on the platform? Muggle family?"

Jack nodded and the boy grinned. "Come with me, then. But you might want to say goodbye to your family first."

His mother clenched his shoulder tightly and Rosie grabbed his waist. "Promise you'll write?" She asked, tears threatening to fall.

"'Course I will... look after Mum, okay?"

"Okay." said Rosie sadly.

Mrs. Frost hugged her son tightly and whispered in his ear, "I love you," before letting go and pulling his sister back.

His guide waited politely until Jack was ready, and escorted him to the wall between Nine and Ten.

"All you have to do is run right between," He said, pointing at one of the people in his group, who had vanished after hitting the bricks. "Pretty easy. I'll go with you if you want."

"Sure," said Jack, trying to act casual. The two positioned themselves directly in the middle and started to run, trunks in front. Jack closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for the impact, but there was none.

Instead, he opened his eyes and there was a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform packed with people. There was a sign dangling overhead that said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. He had done it.

"That wasn't so bad," said the boy, panting beside him. "I'm Hiccup, by the way."

"I'm Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Jack." said Hiccup, looking awkwardly back at the group he had come from.

Jack noticed and his face went red. "If you want to go back with them-"

"Actually I'd rather not..." Hiccup muttered. "Wanna see if we can find an empty compartment?"

Jack was hoping he'd say that. "Alright... Could you help me with my trunk?"

The two boys lifted Jack's up, and then Hiccup's, before climbing on board. Most of the first carriages were already full with chattering students, catching up from the long, summer break. They managed to find an empty one somewhere in the middle, and collapsed into opposing seats.

"What's it like living with Muggles?" asked Hiccup after a minute of silence.

Jack shrugged. "It's been good. I only found out I was a wizard a month ago."

"Really?" Hiccup looked like he was trying to absorb this information. "My whole island's full of magic." For some reason, this made him gloomy. "They all expect me to me a great wizard, but I don't think I'll be any good at it."

"Me neither," said Jack, looking out the window as the train started to gather speed. "But at least you know more than me."

OoO

Down the hall, Rapunzel was shyly looking at her new seat companion: a tiny and bird-like girl, with short, colorful hair and wide violet eyes. She was chattering away, nearly oblivious.

"And some people are more partial to chocolate, but I've never really liked chocolate, isn't that funny? You'd look at me and almost immediately think, 'I bet that girl really likes chocolate', but you'd be wrong because I don't. In fact, one of my aunts got me an enormous tin of chocolates for Christmas last year, the really good stuff from Hogsmeade, but I didn't eat any of it! It turned out alright in the end though, because I traded it with my little sister and got some chewing gum. I absolutely adore chewing gum, and sometimes I just like chewing it, but mostly I like blowing bubbles, and I would always pop them in my sister's face and one it got caught in her hair and-" The girl paused and took a deep breath, and Rapunzel managed to get a few words in.

"I've never had chewing gum before!"

The girl looked quizzically at her. "Really? It's absolutely fantastic, and-" She stopped again and laughed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even tell you my name! I'm Isla Kinnara , but you can call me Tooth."

"Tooth?"

Tooth smiled brightly, showing off her pearly, white teeth. "They've always been my best feature."

"My name is Rapunzel." said Rapunzel, happy now that they at least had a conversation going.

"You have really long hair, Rapunzel." said Tooth. "Maybe you should go by Hair."

Rapunzel wasn't sure if she was kidding or not, but laughed anyway. "Maybe. Have you ever been away from home before?"

"Oh, yes. Loads of times. But I'm still a teensy bit nervous, you?"

"I just hope I fit in alright."

Tooth flashed her perfect teeth again. "Of course you will! Oh look, here comes the trolley!"

"The trolley?"

A portly man knocked on their glass door and gestured towards the piles of brightly colored sweets piled high on his wooden cart. Tooth immediately jumped over to buy as much gum as she could, while Rapunzel's eyes shone with delight. She'd never been allowed to eat candy before!

"Anything for you, my dear?" asked the old man kindly, noticing her awe. Rapunzel nodded and bought a mound of Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes eagerly.

"Oh, you're a chocolate fan, aren't you?" accused Tooth, as she blew an enormous pink bubble. "That's alright. Now we can trade!"

Rapunzel smiled and bit into her treat, savoring the sweet cocoa taste.

"What classes are you looking forward to?" asked Tooth, mouth full of gum.

Classes? Rapunzel had forgotten about classes. All that mattered to her was the escape, and she hadn't even thought about learning magic. "Um... I'm not sure."

"I haven't decided either! I don't know if I'd be any good at casting spells, but I've never tried before and I don't think anyone else has either, although some of the pure bloods might've, you never know, and then there's also Herbology and Astronomy, which sounds really boring, and we don't get to predict the future until third year, my cousin told me-"

Rapunzel was happy enough to let Tooth talk as she stared out the window, watching the green and brown farmland zoom by. She waved to some spotted cows and sighed when she saw two elegant birds soaring in the bright sky. The two birds could be her and Tooth, flying away from the boring life of before, and diving into the exciting world of today.

OoO

For the first time in his life, Hiccup was talking to someone who actually enjoyed his company. It was a strange feeling, but one that he definitely liked. Jack didn't know much about the world of magic, and Hiccup was only too happy to show off his knowledge.

"Where're you from?"

"Berk. It's an island up north in the middle of nowhere. We're either getting rained on or hailed on or attacked by dragons—"

"Dragons?!"

Hiccup had forgotten most wizards, let alone Muggles, had never even seen a dragon. "Oh yeah, they call us Dragon Wizards because we fight 'em off so much. It's the reason we go to Hogwarts: to become good at killing dragons."

"But you don't want to." guessed Jack.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It doesn't really matter if I want to or not. It's tradition. Sort of different, being Muggle-born." He paused. "You are Muggle-born, aren't you?"

"My dad was a wizard, actually."

"Oh," Hiccup was surprised, then realized Jack had used past tense. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I never knew him."

"I never knew my mum, either. She died a long time ago."

The compartment was sad for a minute before Hiccup remembered he had a set of Gobstones in is bag, that he quickly got up. "Here! Let's play a few rounds."

Jack had taken to the game surprisingly quickly and they were shouting and laughing by the fifth game, especially when it was Hiccup who finally got hit wit the putrid shot of liquid. Apparently, they were being too loud, because around that time, two older students rapped on the door and opened it.

"I told you they were first years, Gaston," said the shorter of the two, sweating under the dim light overhead. "Just messing around-"

"These stupid first years were annoying me, you idiot!" snapped his tall, burly companion. "And no one annoys me!"

The short one coughed and put on a mean expression. "You've messed with the wrong person! Gaston is the bravest, strongest, most dangerous student at Hogwarts that you'll ever meet! No one flies like Gaston, no one casts spells like Gaston-"

"Shut up," said Gaston nastily. He turned his attention of the two silent boys. "Listen up. You two better shut up and hope you don't run into me at school, not like you two wimps will be in Gryffindor anyway. Gryffindor doesn't tolerate obnoxious little..." He struggled to find something to say, and it would've been funny if it didn't look like he could bench press five hundred pounds. "First years."

Gaston turned around and slammed the glass door, nearly shattering it and Jack and Hiccup exchanged a wide eyed look.

"What..." Jack swallowed. "What's a Gryffindor?"

Hiccup, relieved he could talk about something that simple, was glad to answer. "It's one of the four Hogwarts houses."

"Houses?"

"Like your family at Hogwarts. You room with them and take classes with them and stuff like that. There's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Once we get to school, they'll sort us."

"Sort us? How?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I dunno."

"What if I get put in Gryffindor?" Jack whispered, face even paler than normal. "I don't want to be rooming with anyone like him!"

"My whole family has been in Gryffindor, practically all of Berk." said Hiccup miserably. "What if that means I'm in it too?"

They were quiet and noticed the sun was sinking, turning the light inside the train into a musky glow.

"Well, we just won't let that happen." Jack decided firmly.

Hiccup laughed quietly. Jack seemed like a decent guy, someone he wouldn't mind being friends with at Hogwarts. The words of the psychic started to ring in his ears. Could Jack be one of the friends he was supposed to make, here at the crossroads?

OoO

While Hiccup and Jack were discussing how awful it would be to be in Gryffindor, Merida and her new friends were doing the exact opposite.

"Of course I want to be in Gryffindor!" Merida roared, when asked by one of the twins, Ruffnut or Tuffnut, she couldn't remember which. "Where the brave of heart dwell! The courageous and noble!"

The others in the carriage agreed loudly. "I bet I'll be the bravest Gryffindor there ever was!" boasted one of them with dark hair and a cocky expression. "The name Snotlout Jorgenson will go down in history books!"

"I'm sure it will," said the other girl scathingly, a pretty, but tough blond with straggly hair. "Followed by the words 'Always had to have his butt saved by Astrid Hofferson'."

Snotlout flushed pink, but took this to mean that she actually cared about his wellbeing, which was a start at the romance he had planned.

Merida laughed and turned to the twins. "Sorry, I can't remember which is which again."

"I'm Ruffnut, and this is my dopey brother, Tuffnut." said the girl, punching him in the arm.

Okay, the R was with the giRl. She could remember that. "And I'm Merida Dunbroch. I think we'll be seeing each other a lot."

"I sure hope so!" The last boy was pudgy and had a baby face, with jittering eyes. Merida frowned; he seemed the most unlikely to get into Gryffindor.

"We all know _your_ going to be in _Ravenclaw_, Fishlegs." said Tuffnut. "All you do is spout off trivia on dragons, like that's going to help you in battle."

"Wait," Merida held up her hand. "You all fight dragons?!"

"'Course we do!" said Snotlout proudly. "We only belong to the finest troop of dragon wizards that ever roamed the earth! Or we will, once we graduate."

"Do you live in Berk, then?" asked Merida.

Snotlout beamed. "You've heard of it?"

Merida frowned. "Actually, I think one of my distant cousins lives there. He's starting Hogwarts now too..."

"You mean Hiccup?" Astrid rolled her eyes, and turned from the window. "I don't know where he vanished off to, but it's good riddance."

"He didn't seem like much of a dragon wizard." said Merida, remembering their brief encounter at Diagon Alley.

"He'd not much of anything really."

"His dad's so disappointed."

"Always manages to mess things up."

Astrid looked out the window again as darkness took over. "Hiccup doesn't 'get' things. He's smart, I guess, but he doesn't 'get' it, you know?"

"Yeah." said Merida, who didn't 'get' it either, but wasn't about to say so. "Should we get our stuff ready? It sounds like the train in slowing."

The group hastily shoved Muggle clothes back into bags and swept away the crumbs from the sweets eaten hours ago. Merida led the way out of the train when it finally stopped, and looked around once outside, unsure of where to go.

"First years! First years! Get yer tiny little butts over here! C'mon, we don't have all night!"

"Shrek!" admonished a female voice. "Sorry- First year students, please come this way!"

When Merida wound her way around the crowds of students, she was faced with a very tall man and a very tall woman, both almost too big to exist. Then man crossed his arms grumpily and the woman had taken over his job of calling the first years over. "Alright, is that everyone? Follow us!"

The pair led them down a steep, narrow path, and the thick darkness pressed on them from either side.

"You'll get your first look at Hogwarts around this turn!" said the woman cheerfully, and the man grunted.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the students as they round the bend. The narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a glittering black lake. On the other side, an enormous castle was perched on a high mountain, windows sparkling like stars.

"No more than four to a boat!" Shrek boomed, gesturing to a fleet of wooden boats on the shore.

There was a mad scramble and somehow Merida and Astrid ended up with two other girls, one with long blond hair, and the other tiny and bird-like. "I'm Tooth and this is Rapunzel." whispered the shorter girl.

"Astrid and Merida."

The rest of the journey was in silence, as all the first years stared up at the great castle. All the boats traveled in unison over the smooth water. They ducked their heads under a rocky cliff that jutted out by a curtain of ivy, and were led seemingly underneath the school itself. Finally, the boats reached the sandy shore and they all stepped out, without a single word.

"Aw, don't be so nervous." said Shrek with a grin. "The sorting doesn't hurt _that_ bad."

"Shrek!" admonished his partner, but the damage had been done. Those who looked even remotely brave before were now cowering as they walked across the damp lawn and up a flight of stone steps to the grand, oak door.

Shrek raised his boulder like fist and knocked the door three rattling times. Merida gulped and looked at Astrid, who had a steely look in her eyes. This was it.

OoO

**Hope you all enjoyed and will let me know with a review :) The Sorting chapter is next and I hope everyone enjoys it. **

**See you next week!**

**owlgirl16**


	4. Chapter 4

Almost immediately, the doors swung open. A very short, black haired woman with red lips and round glasses was waiting. Even though she was smaller than even the tiniest first year, there was something in her stance that told Jack she was not someone to cross.

"Here you go, Professor Mode." said Shrek gruffly.

"Thank you Shrek. Fiona. You can all follow me now."

She led them inside the grand entrance hall with its flickering torches on sweeping marble staircases. They all followed Professor Mode into a small, empty chamber in the hall, although they could hear the dim roar of a few hundred voices nearby. The first years crowded together nervously, and Jack exchanged a look with Hiccup. Was this going to be it?

"Welcome to Hogwarts, yada yada yada." Professor Mode looked around. "We'll be going to the start-of-term banquet soon and then you'll be sorted, and I assume all of you have learned what sorting is about? No? Well you'll be placed in either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, and each House has a long and terribly interesting history, but let's try not to look back; it distracts from the now. Your triumphs will gain you points and rule breaking will lose points. Whoever has the most points wins the House Cup at the end of the year, so try to behave. The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few minutes in front of the entire school, so prepare yourselves."

She glanced at the trembling lips, smudged noses, and wrinkled robes and frowned. "I'll be back to fetch you when they're ready." Professor Mode strode out, leaving a quiet room behind her. Then, suddenly everyone around them burst into whispers.

"-what House do you-"

"-in front of the whole school-"

"-my whole family's been-"

"How do they sort us?" Jack turned around at the question and saw a very tall, mean looking girl with wild red hair. "What're _you_ looking at?" She sneered, as if she didn't want to be answered.

"Nothing, sorry for being curious as well." retorted Jack. Hiccup turned around as well and paled at the sight of his sort-of cousin.

"Hey, Merida."

"Hiccup, right?"

"Yeah, that's Hiccup." Her companion, an equally tough looking girl with thin blond hair crossed her arms. "Thanks for ditching us on the train."

Hiccup scowled. "It's not like you would've talked to me anyway." he muttered, turning his back to the crowd of wizards from Berk.

Jack awkwardly grimaced at Merida and privately thought that she seemed a little too much like the jerk Gaston on the train. Another reason to want something besides Gryffindor. But what House _did_ he belong to?

He didn't have too long to decide. Professor Mode returned promptly and ordered them to form a line in order of their last names. After a minute or two of debate, Jack ended up behind the red headed Merida and in front of a girl that resembled a troll. Hiccup was right behind troll-girl, and Jack spared one look back before walking out of the small room and into the Great Hall.

Thousands of candles floated in midair over four long tables, where the other students were sitting and staring. Golden plates and goblets glittered. At the top of the hall, the teachers sat at another long table stretched in the other direction. Professor Mode led them around so they were facing their soon to be new classmates. Jack looked up and let out a tiny gasp; there was no ceiling above them, but a velvety black sky, dotted with stars. Obviously it really _was _a ceiling, because they were on the ground floor, but it was hard to believe the Great Hall simply didn't open up to the firmament.

Professor Mode place a wooden stool in front of them with a patched and worn wizard's hat sitting on top. Since everyone else was staring at it, Jack did too, with a sense of confusion. Until the hat started _singing_.

_Almost a thousand years ago,_

_When I was shining and new,_

_The greatest wizards in all the world_

_Had an important job to do. _

_These four were given a difficult task,_

_One never attempted before,_

_They wished to build a magical school_

_To teach both rich and poor._

_Gryffindor boldly took the first step,_

_Pure Slytherin followed behind him._

_Wise Ravenclaw was the plotter and planner,_

_And Hufflepuff always would help them._

_Each valued different virtues,_

_Four Houses were created to divide._

_Although this was done with good intentions,_

_It led to much debate and strife._

_In Gryffindor they found a home_

_for the brave, daring, and chivalrous._

_But Slytherin was what they chose_

_For the shrewd, cunning, and ambitious._

_Ravenclaw admired those who had_

_A clever and open mind._

_Hufflepuff accepted all who were_

_Loyal, patient, and kind._

_Now I'm entrusted to group you by_

_The qualities you have within._

_Just slip me on and close your eyes,_

_Let this year's sorting begin!_

OoO

Rapunzel sighed in relief. So they just had to try on the hat! That wasn't so bad at all! She smiled at Tooth who gave her a nervous grin back. She didn't realize that the houses were separated by personality, and that made her feel loads better. The tiny Professor Mode had gotten out a long scroll and coughed to indicate she was ready to begin.

"Bagshot, Bathilda!"

A small, dark haired girl with glasses stumbled forward and sat on the stool, hat covering her eyes. A few seconds later, it shouted "RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left cheered and the girl quickly scurried over to sit down.

"Corona, Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel heart was fluttering like she had a thousand moths stuck inside, but that didn't stop her from noticing the curious look a few of the teachers were giving her. She sat down on the stool, aware the entire school was watching, and then suddenly it was dark; the fabric blocked her sight.

"Hello," said a tiny voice in her ear. "Well, look at this. Very different from your mother. A good amount of courage, and not a bad set of brains, but your humble kindness speaks loudest, oh yes. It's very clear that you're a HUFFLEPUFF!"

Rapunzel took off the hat beaming and walked over to the table on the right, where everyone was smiling just as brightly as her. A tall, dark skinned girl patted her on the back.

"My name is Tiana, and I'm one of your Prefects." she said. "If you ever need anything, just give me a call. I want you to be as comfortable as possible; Hogwarts can be a little scary at first."

Rapunzel nodded, and turned back to the sorting. Almost half the group had gone before it was Tooth's turn, and the poor girl was shaking and sweating.

"Kinnara, Isla!"

Tooth sat on the stool and all was quiet, until- "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Rapunzel cheered loudly and scooted over so Tooth could have a seat. Neither of them could keep the goofy grins off their faces. They were in the same house! Rapunzel looked around at the other first years: there was a dull looking boy named Dingwall, a very big boy with a blank face named MacGuffin, and now a handsome boy with light brown hair named Tony Rydinger that sat next to Tooth, who blushed beet red.

Rapunzel giggled as the sorting winded down. Everyone around her looked so sweet! And if the sorting hat was right, then she was in the house for the loyal, patient, and kind. There was a pang as she remembered her Slytherin mother, but it quickly vanished. The people at that table looked a little too unpleasant, and she was extremely happy there with Tooth. It was all working out.

She looked up at the High Table where the teachers sat in a long row and tried to memorize faces.

OoO

Merida watched as Donald Dingwall, a ridiculous boy that would visit them sometimes, was sorted into Hufflepuff and was anxiously awaiting her own name to be called. She was ready to take her rightful place at the table of red and gold.

"Dunbroch, Merida!"

She strode forward, and sat on the stool. The hat's voice whispered in her ear as the fabric covered her face.

"You seem quite determined on where you want to go. I sense more than enough courage and bravery, with a thirst to prove yourself and become strong- well, don't let me hold you up. Nobody should stand in your way in GRYFINDOR!"

Merida's heart soared as the table to the far left exploded with cheers. She walked over quickly and found herself next to one of the Prefects, you could tell by the pins on their robes. This one didn't look too bad though; she was Chinese and had her black hair pinned up elegantly, but with a steely look that clearly said 'Don't mess with me'.

"Fa Mulan." She said simply, shaking Merida's hand roughly. "Glad to have you with us."

Merida shook it back, just as hard. "I'm glad to be here."

She was unsurprised when Hiccup didn't make Gryffindor, but waited with bated breath for the girl behind him. Why was she so nervous? It was obvious she would be-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Astrid sauntered towards them as Merida let out a cheer. "Wasn't even worried." said Merida happily, but Astrid seemed preoccupied by Hiccup's absence.

Merida rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't fit in here anyway. Now you don't have to be responsible for him."

Astrid nodded and brushed her bangs away. "You're right." She said simply, cheering with the rest of them as Snotlout and Stuart Macintosh, a thin boy with wild brown hair, joined them. Fishlegs went to Ravenclaw, like they all guessed on the train, and it wasn't long before Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat on either side of Merida and Astrid.

As the sorting hat and stool were taken away, the Headmaster stood and everyone became quiet.

"Good evening, boys and girls!" said the burly man, with a thick Russian accent. "I don't want to keep you from our excellent feast, so I'll save the rules and reminders for after we're nice and full. Tuck in!"

Before he even sat back down, the tables were suddenly covered in pork chops, roast chicken, roast beef, lamb, sausage, bacon, steak, potatoes, carrots, fries, and even more down the row. Merida's mouth fell open and watered. She immediately fought Snotlout for a nice, juicy lamb chop and grabbed an apple as well, as an after thought. Her mother would never approve such rowdy eating, but her mother wasn't there.

It was just Merida, the new Gryffindor.

OoO

Hiccup swallowed as Jack was called up to the stool and held his breath as the hat decided. He saw Jack mumbling something under his breath, then a beat of silence, and finally- "SLYTHERIN!"

Jack stumbled over to the cheering table and Hiccup bit his lip. He knew the stories about Slytherin, and they weren't pretty. His father would _murder_ him if he were a Slytherin, but could he really desert his only friend so far? As Gruella Goyle was also sorted into Slytherin, Hiccup decided to let the hat decide; he'd go anywhere. Except Gryffindor.

"Haddock, Hiccup!"

Hiccup stepped forward and jammed the hat on his head, blood coursing with nerves and adrenaline.

"Hmm, what do we have here? Brilliant mind, of course, but that's just on the surface. I see... oh, what else? A dash of recklessness and a splash of crazy. Interesting combination. But you think your way out of problems... and an interesting desire to prove yourself, to change..."

Hiccup's fingers curled around the rough stool, thoughts pounding in his head. _Not Gryffindor, not Gryffindor._

"Not Gryffindor? I don't hear that very much, and here you are, the second one to tell me that." said the small voice, sounding wistful. "And he would've done so well- but you're a little easier to place now. You'll do very well in RAVENCLAW!"

The second table from the left clapped wildly and Hiccup grinned, sad that he and Jack weren't in the same House, but pleased all the same. Ravenclaw sounded the best in the song, being clever and wise and all. He sat near Bathilda Bagshot and a sweet looking brunette.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw," said the older student. "I'm Belle, one of the Prefects. I'm sure you'll exceed greatly here."

Hiccup nodded and clapped halfheartedly when Fishlegs came to join him. He was _really_ hoping to get away from everyone from Berk, but decided it wouldn't be too bad knowing someone his age. Predictably, everyone else he knew went to Gryffindor.

Violet Parr, a quiet girl with long, black hair and Tara Patil, a short, Indian girl joined them, and before Hiccup knew it, the sorting had ended. He tried to make eye contact with Jack across the room, but he was in the middle of a conversation with a very beautiful Arabic girl Hiccup assumed was Prefect.

The food was delicious, and even better were the desserts that followed. Hiccup took an enormous scoop of strawberry ice cream and listened to the Ravenclaws around him talk about classes and families and teachers. His eyes grew dim and sleepy when the last of the sweets vanished and Professor North got to his feet again.

"First years should know that no pupil is allowed to enter the forrest on the grounds, and a few of our older students should remember that as well." North's twinkling eyes brightened. "Also, Quidditch trials will be held the second week of the term. Please contact Madam Flora if you're interested. And now, bedtime! Get a good night's rest for classes tomorrow!"

The Ravenclaw first years followed Belle through the crowds and up the marble staircase. They winded around paintings, suits of armor, ghosts, and hidden doorways, but Hiccup was too sleepy to notice the exact path. He did know that they were on the west side and climbing up.

Finally, they reached a door without a doorknob or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. As the students stopped in front of it, the knocker moved and spoke out loud, "You can keep me only after giving me away to someone else. What am I?"

Belle cleared her throat. "A promise."

"Short and simple." said the knocker, and the door swung open to reveal a wide, circular room with a midnight blue carpet, arched windows with silky bronze curtains, and a domed ceiling above. An elegant statue of a woman stood in front of two doors.

"You'll have to answer a question like that to have access to the Common Room and dorms. Girls on the left, boys on the right," said Belle. "Your belongings should already be in your rooms. Classes start bright and early tomorrow, so you should go to bed as quickly as you can. I hope you all sleep well!"

She led the girls on the left, and Hiccup and the other boys stumbled up to their room, flopping down on the soft beds almost immediately. After a slight flurry of changing into pajamas and brushing teeth, Hiccup was finally still underneath the covers. He thought of Jack, alone in the Slytherin common room, and hoped he was doing alright, but also thought of Astrid, probably having the time of her life with his stupid almost-cousin.

He turned over and shut his eyes. There'd be enough to worry about in the morning.

OoO

**Ack! So sorry! Tuesday went by and I didn't even think about it. Hope you guys are enjoying, feel free to ping me a review! **

**owlgirl16**


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Jack noticed about his dorm when he awoke was the chill in the air. It didn't bother him too much, but the person beside him was audibly shivering. Jack tried to pull out a name, but it was useless so early in the morning. The second thing Jack noticed was that someone was snoring incredibly loudly and it was incredibly irritating. He was about to climb out of bed, but the person beside him was faster.

"Oy! Shut up! Some of us are actually trying to sleep!"

The snoring stopped abruptly and the culprit grumbled a bit before turning and scowling. "Who said that?"

"Me," said the boy defiantly. "Flynn Rider said it."

Jack vaguely remembered someone with that last name being called to sort last night but didn't recognize the first name. The snorer, an aristocratic looking blond, didn't appear to recognize the first name or surname. "Well, I'll tell you this _Rider_." He said haughtily. "I'm Hydrus

Nott, and the Nott family doesn't snore."

Flynn laughed and Jack had to admire his bravery. "You were snoring so loudly, you probably woke up the entire House, if not the entire school."

Nott's face flushed an ugly shade of red. "You sound to me like an empty-headed Gryffindor. Did the Sorting Hat put you in the wrong House?"

Flynn shrugged nonchalantly, which seemed to be an even better response to Nott's taunt. " I suppose we'll find out."

Nott narrowed his pale, grey eyes and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. The sounds of water running could be heard after- he was presumably drawing a bath.

"I'd be careful, if I were you." said a pudgy looking boy on the other side of the room. "The Nott family is pretty powerful."

Flynn didn't look overly concerned. "He's just a first year, like any of us. What's your name, anyway?"

"Horace Slughorn," said the boy, a bit dubiously.

"Nice to meet you, Horace." said Flynn, before turning to Jack. "And you?"

"Jack Frost."

"I've heard that name before..." said Horace. "Are your parents wizards?"

"My mum's not." said Jack. "My dad was, but he's dead."

"That makes you half-blood, then." Horace didn't appear to acknowledge the fact that the death of Mr. Frost might be a subject not to broach. "I'm mostly pure: got a bit of Muggle in there somewhere."

"Blood purity's alright," said Flynn, who thew on his new robes and sloppily tied his tie. "I have a couple of Muddy friends back home."

"Muddy?" asked Jack, not sure if he should be offended.

Flynn looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry. That's what my da calls 'em. Didn't mean it badly."

Jack didn't really know what to say so he made a non-committal gesture and this seemed to suit Flynn fine. When all three boys were dressed, they started towards the door, looking back with little hesitation towards the still closed bathroom door and the final member of the dorm, a slumbering boy that resembled a mossy rock.

"Can't wait to get to the Great Hall, I'm starved!" complained Horace as they made their way from out of the dungeons and into the mass of the school. Jack wasn't sure how it was possible, but they managed to find their way by following upperclassmen and his stomach grumbled as they walked in.

The three sat down at the Slytherin table and helped themselves to piles of toast, bacon, and pumpkin juice.

"Good morning."

It was the Prefect from the night before, Jasmine, with her long, glossy hair and expression of utter, aristocratic boredom. "I have your schedules, Firsties." She handed them each a piece of parchment and then sauntered away.

Flynn stared after her for a moment before glancing at the page. "Alright, today we've got Potions with Ravenclaw first, then Transfiguration with Hufflepuff and History of Magic with Gryffindor. Alright, that doesn't sound too awful."

"Do you know anything about the teachers?" asked Horace skeptically.

Flynn leaned back in his seat. "Nope. But they can't be that bad."

Jack had other thoughts: he never really got along with teachers well back in Burgess and he was equally as nervous about performing magic. What if everyone else was years ahead of him? His whole life, he'd been told _not_ to do anything weird, but here it was accepted, even encouraged.

The bell signaling the end of breakfast came all to soon and Jack stood up slowly, following Flynn and Horace out of the Hall without really thinking. He realized, a little too late, that the desks were set up in pairs and he ended up the odd man out. Fortune was in his favor, though, when an irritated, scrawny boy sat next to him.

"I'm going to _murder_ Fishlegs."

"Nice to see you too, Hiccup."

Hiccup gave him half a grin. "How're you with all the snakes?"

"It's alright. Do you know anything about this class?"

"Nope." Hiccup shook his head. "Back on Berk it's all about fighting dragons. Still, I think this stuff sounds a lot more interesting."

Jack was about to ask another question when the door opened and the class fell silent. Then, one of the most beautiful women Jack had ever seen walked in and all worries vanished from his mind. She was extraordinarily thin with silvery blond hair and dark skin and she seemed to catch his eye when she smiled.

"Good morning, class. I am Professor Mirage, in charge of Potions. I also happen to be Head of Slytherin, but please don't believe I will treat any of you differently. I'm sure you will all find this to be a challenging, but delightful course. Let us begin by turning to page four in our textbooks as a proper introduction to the making of magical solutions..."

She continued, but Jack found it hard to listen to anything but the sweet sound of her voice, not necessarily the exact words. He wasn't the only one: Flynn was doing the same thing in front of him, as were a few other boys. Meanwhile, Hiccup was taking notes in a slanted, but neat handwriting. Jack would have to copy those later.

They left the class with Jack still in a bit of a daze, but head mostly cleared.

"That was really cool." said Hiccup as they exited. "I think that's going to be a good class." He noticed Jack's relaxed expression and smirked. "You seemed to enjoy it."

"Yeah..." said Jack sleepily, before shaking his head and consulting his schedule. "Aw, man, I have to go to Trans-something with the Hufflepuffs."

"I've got Defense with the Gryffindors." said Hiccup with a grimace. "Wish me luck."

"Yeah, catch you later." Jack ran to catch up with Flynn and Horace, who didn't seem to notice his absence.

In Transfiguration, they sat in long rows facing a blackboard and the very small woman from the previous night, Professor Mode. She started the lesson as soon as they were all inside and didn't finish until a minute after the bell had rung, keeping them busy the whole time. Jack didn't think the Hufflepuffs looked all that bad, and there was even a pretty girl with very long blond hair that smiled and waved.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was having a much more difficult time in his class. Predictably, he was forced to sit next to Fishlegs who jabbered on the entire time. Even worse, his sort-of cousin Merida ended up to his right instead of the lovely Astrid, and while she didn't glare at him, there was quite a bit of awkwardness.

Still, he took notes and copied down the homework and was fairly relieved that they wouldn't start anything practical until at least a month in. (This caused a few people like Snotlout to groan, but Hiccup was thrilled.)

Professor Gobber was about what he expected and remembered: big, burly, missing a couple appendages, and with a spectacular mustache. When class ended and Hiccup tried to sneak out without speaking to anyone, Gobber called him over.

"So you're Stoick's kid, huh? That's pretty funny." said the professor. "He told me to check up on you."

"That's great..." said Hiccup, wondering if his father also asked his old friend to toughen his son up. "Hasn't even been a day yet."

"Hogwarts changes people." said Gobber, settling down in his chair. "Doesn't seem like so long ago I was the one in this classroom as a student, all skinny and nervous. You'll get over that."

"I hope so." Hiccup glanced at his watch and Gobber chuckled.

"Alright, go down to lunch or wherever. Kids are always in such a rush. Bye Hiccup."

Hiccup waved as he left and then sighed as he trotted along the corridor before running into the last person he thought he would see alone.

"Aye, what're you doing here?" asked Merida in her strong, Scottish accent.

"I could ask you the same question."

Merida frowned and her small nose turned up a bit. "I had to go the bathroom and now I don't know where I'm going. You?"

"Hoping the Great Hall is down those stairs like it was this morning."

Merida actually chuckled a bit. "That was pretty good... Hate to say this, but some of your friends from Berk don't have a great sense of humor."

"You must be talking about Snotlout." said Hiccup and they started walking together. "You've gotta be easy on him; it takes him a little while to figure out someone's joking."

"He is a wee thick." said Merida. "Although your friend Fishlegs doesn't seem much better."

"He's smart but so obtuse I feel like I'm talking to a boulder."

"Speaking of boulders," Merida dropped her voice to a whisper as she pointed at a Slytherin student. "Doesn't he kind of resemble one?"

They both sniggered and then realized they'd found the Great Hall. It was time to depart.

"Well, uh, nice talking to you." said Hiccup.

Merida nodded, looking furtively at the Gryffindor table. "Yeah. You too."

The awkwardly separated and Hiccup found himself wishing they weren't. Other than Jack, she was one of the first people to not be openly antagonistic or annoying during this first day of classes.

Merida felt the same way as she found her new friends in the crowd. She really liked these people from Berk, but she missed being able to joke around like she could with her little brothers and father and irritate her mother.

"Why were you talking to Hiccup?" asked Ruffnut, as soon as Merida sat down.

Merida shrugged. "I dunno, we were headed in the same direction. Be kind of awkward not to talk."

No one even smiled.

"He's not...like us." said Snotlout with an air of arrogance. "He's a _Ravenclaw_. Look, they've all got their noses in books right now. They'll never survive in the real world."

"Your head's so far up your _derriere, _I bet you wouldn't survive either!" Merida's temper flared and she grabbed an apple and flounced out of the Great Hall, hair crackling like fire.

When she exited she immediately wished she hadn't, mostly because they had History of Magic with Slytherin and she had no idea how to find the classroom.

It took her a while, but she finally stumbled across the classroom. To her immense relief, at least Astrid didn't appear too upset and she offered the seat next to her. To her disdain, this meant sitting next to a Slytherin on the other side. Merida stole a glance at him; he was shorter than her with dark hair and very bright blue eyes. She didn't remember his name.

Just then, the teacher came in, a small, slightly plump man with receding hair and circular glasses who proceeded to open a large book and read out of it for the rest of the class period. Merida tried to stay awake, she really did. But it was as though this teacher was trying to bore them to tears, indeed, about twenty minutes into the class and people were either fast asleep or pinching themselves to stay awake.

Merida looked to her right and saw Astrid and the others slumbering then turned to her right and nearly burst out laughing. Her Slytherin seat neighbor had such an expression of shock on his face that it was almost comical and he leaned in to Merida, the only person near him awake.

"How could anyone make Goblin Wars sound this dull? I didn't even know goblins existed until about a month ago."

This surprised her. "You're a Slytherin muggle born?" she asked, wondering why she kept approaching people. It wasn't like her to talk to people like Hiccup and what's-his-name.

He seemed surprised, too. "Not really. My dad was a wizard, but he's dead."

"That's awful." said Merida, shivering at the thought of her own father being dead. "What was your name, again?"

"Jack."

"Merida."

And that was the end of the conversation. Merida eventually felt herself doze off into a half-slumber, thoughts about her first day swirling in her brain.

Jack watched his neighbor fall asleep and sighed. This Professor Binns guy was pretty lame. His other teachers the following days were a slight improvement: Professor Bunnymund headed up Herbology and knew what he was talking about, although Jack accidentally knocking a plant over didn't make them fast friends. Professor Sanders, a plump man in golden robes who didn't talk much, headed up Charms, and then finally, in what appeared to Jack as the worst idea ever, they had Astronomy class Wednesday at midnight.

All forty or so of the first years were huddled around at the top of the Astronomy tower, looking through their telescopes at the stars. Professor Black was their teacher, and he seemed to favor his distant nephew Hydrus and a few others over the majority of the class.

"I'm going to put you all in groups that you will remain in for the rest of the year." said Professor Black, his gaunt face looking quite gleeful. "Let's have..." He then divided everyone except his favorites into groups of mixed houses and friendships, leaving almost no one happy. "And finally: Corona, Frost, Haddock, and Dunbroch."

Jack almost smiled, but didn't want to show Black he was pleased. Hiccup came over to his table, followed by Merida from History and the blond girl from Transfiguration who introduced herself as Rapunzel. Merida didn't look thrilled, but didn't look depressed either. Rapunzel looked a little nervous, but optimistic. Jack and Hiccup shared an excited look when the teacher's back was turned.

"Astronomy is an interesting art, one that must be performed with great care. Everyone, take out your textbooks and turn to the first chapter. We will be discussing the planets in our solar system for the first term, so I would advise against inattentiveness."

Thankfully, he was a bit of a droner like Binns so the class was able to chat amongst itself, groups configuring to allow friends to talk to friends. Jack's group, however, sitting so close to people like Hydrus, Gruella Goyle, Cassiopeia Lestrange, and Brutus Crabbe, didn't have much of an option except to talk among themselves.

"I'm going to be so tired tomorrow." said Jack.

The other three nodded in agreement. "It's hard enough sleeping with Ruffnut. She snores like a dragon." Merida said, gently nudging Hiccup who snorted.

"Yeah, we've got one of those." said Jack, gesturing subtly to Hydrus.

"Which one?" asked Hiccup. "The talking boulder or the blond ferret?"

Even Rapunzel giggled, her wide eyes finding wonder at the people before her. They were very different from Tooth, who had a lot to say but none of it with a bite. But they weren't cruel like her mother, at least not yet. She was a little wary of the Slytherin and the tough, red headed girl, but Hiccup at least seemed approachable. If she had't been Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw might've been a good place as well. The Houses seemed to have quite a bit of crossover potential.

"Rapunzel's an interesting name, isn't it?" said Jack.

Rapunzel bit her lip. "I suppose so."

"I think it's a little long. How about..." Jack close his eyes and the air around them seemed to darken without their glow. "Zel."

"That's creative." said Hiccup while Merida said "Guess you're not smart enough to remember all those syllables." at the same time.

Jack just grinned and turned to Rapunzel. "What do you think?"

Rapunzel was stunned. She'd never had anyone joke around with her or give her a nickname before. Jack didn't seem to care that both Hiccup and Merida had been sarcastic or the fact that she was a Hufflepuff and therefore a foreign species. She blushed a little. "Yeah, that's fine with me!"

"Great," then Jack turned to Merida, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Weren't you the one who managed to forget the password to the Gryffindor common room and scream at that painting for an hour?"

Merida flushed. Of _course _even the Slytherins had heard about that. "Weren't you the one who knocked that plant over in Herbology and made that huge mess?"

"What about your owl that dove into the sausage this morning?"

Merida was about to retort but Professor Black had finally heard the commotion and walked over. "Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin, respectively." He said, seemingly more pleased than anything that the group members were disagreeing. "And as I was saying, who can tell me which planet has the longest solar day, but the shortest year."

Hiccup raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Hammock."

Hiccup didn't correct him. "That would be Mercury, sir."

"Good. Five points to Ravenclaw." Professor Black looked like he wished he had been given the wrong answer, but at least gave Hiccup credit.

The rest of the lesson was pretty uninteresting, except that Merida and Jack didn't speak anymore. By the time it ended, even Hiccup and Rapunzel were too exhausted to do anything other than trudge back to the main part of the school.

As Rapunzel climbed into her soft bed, she suddenly wished that Tooth and the other Hufflepuff girls would stop talking and giggling so much. She had preferred that short time in Astronomy when someone paid attention to _her_. Rapunzel smiled softly and fell asleep, thinking of the strange Slytherin boy with bright eyes who called her "Zel".

OoO

**Another chapter come and gone and they're slowly becoming friends! Bonding! Hurray!**

**In response to a review related to my other Naruto story: As I've mentioned, I have not given up on the story. Just taking a small break. Hope that cleared up any misconceptions. As always, please tell me what you think!**

**owlgirl16**


	6. Chapter 6

That evening debate was only the first of many quarrels between Merida and Jack. They were both stubborn and made everything between them a competition, including who could drive their teachers the craziest. Unfortunately, the two classes they alone shared, History and Charms, were run by two people who never got mad, which took out a lot of the fun in arguing.

Both of them realized, as the first couple of weeks passed, that they weren't alone in their rivalry. Gryffindors and Slytherins always ended up in fights, but while Merida and Jack never went so far as to use magic (mostly because neither of them were particularly good at it yet), during the second week of school, Stuart Macintosh and Brutus Crabbe ended up in the Hospital Wing.

"Stupid, stupid Slytherins." muttered Merida after a row with Jack over who spilled an ink bottle during Charms. The fact that Jack was right in saying it was her infuriated her even more. She flopped down on her bed noisily and Astrid gave her a sympathetic look.

"Don't let them get you down." she said. "At least we only have to deal with them for two classes."

All of that ended when Ruffnut came running into their dorm. "Guess what? We're starting flying lessons next week!"

Astrid wrinkled her nose. "Who'd want to fly? That's what dragons do and I don't want to be anything like a dragon."

Merida wasn't much interested in flying either; she was just eager to start archery, but that wouldn't be until after Quidditch season anyway and it was among schools not houses. "Big deal. We take lessons like three times."

"But guess who we're taking them with!" said Ruffnut. "The Slytherins!"

Astrid and Merida both groaned. "Of course we are." said the blond, looking irritated. "Maybe, when the teacher's not looking, I'll knock Gruella off her broomstick."

"Then can I get Cassiopeia? She always looks at me funny." said Ruffnut.

Merida sniggered a little and was about to say Jack's comment on her looking like a chestnut flew up her nose as a baby and that's why her expression was so awkward, but realized that neither Astrid nor Ruffnut would find that as funny as she had. As much as Jack Frost annoyed her, he was witty like Hiccup, who was another unspeakable.

"Hey! Merida, this'll be your chance to get Frost!" said Astrid. "Trip him and make him fall into his broomstick or something."

"Yeah, he's a Muggle, so he's probably not any good." said Ruffnut casually.

Merida frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well he's never done it before, silly." said Ruffnut after a moment, which made Merida wonder if that was really her reason.

Merida let the comment go and tried to pen a letter to her parents, but the words never seemed quite right. No matter what she wrote, it sounded forcedly cheerful.

_**Dear Dad and Mum, **_

_**I'm doing well. Classes aren't too bad and we're going to start flying lessons soon. I've made a few friends, most in Gryffindor with me. Hope you're doing well.**_

_**Merida**_

Merida nearly ripped it apart but her mum promised to come to Hogwarts herself if they didn't receive a letter every week. Sighing, she put it in an envelope and gave it to Angus.

The day of flying lessons came much sooner than she was ready for, but at least the sky was clear when the first years marched out onto the fields. The only people who looked confident were Tuffnut and Snotlout, who seemed to believe they were invincible gods. Hydrus Nott was telling anyone who'd listen how many times he'd flown and how fantastic he was. Merida snuck a look at Jack who looked a mixture of boredom and understated anxiety.

"Afternoon, boys and girls." The flying instructor, Madam Flora, came out. She was an older witch, leaning on the side of plumpness, and dressed in red robes with a red pointed hat. "Today I'll be teaching you the basics of flying. Please arrange yourselves in two lines. I will place a broomstick beside each one of you, but don't touch it until I give you instructions to do so."

They followed her directions and got into two lines, one Gryffindor and one Slytherin. Merida ended up facing Jack who gave her a half smile. He must have really been nervous not to give her a snarky retort.

Jack was _very_ nervous. He absolutely did not want to make a fool out of himself in front of anyone, especially the Gryffindors. If he fell off, Merida would make fun of him for weeks! But then again, she didn't quite look her cocky self- she kept stuffing her red curls into a ponytail as if to keep her fingers occupied. Even weirder, when he offered a smile, she returned it.

He gave the broom beside him a rather dubious look. Could this thing really fly?

"Now, place your right hand above the broom and say 'Up!' very clearly. Ready?"

"Up!" Jack called, and to his surprise, it shot up into his hand. He looked around and saw that no one's had done it as quickly as his. Merida looked surprised as well- hers had only sort of rolled around a bit. Some people's, like Horace's, hadn't moved at all. But then, eventually, everyone managed to get their broom up.

Madam Flora then proceeded to show them how to mount the broom to avoid sliding off and went around correcting their grips. To Jack, she shifted his hands a lot before frowning. "You look more natural holding like this, but the proper grip is the other way around." she said. "I'll allow you to try both ways."

Jack nodded, unsure of why his hands jumped to that position. He noticed that quite a few people looked quite dumb on the broomstick and felt self-conscious. He hoped he didn't look as silly as Crabbe or even Astrid, whose kept swinging.

"Now that we're all ready, when I say three, kickoff with your foot and hover in the air. Don't use too much force, just in case you topple over. It can be difficult to keep your balance. Ready? On the count of three. One, two, three!"

Almost everyone rose up and almost everyone fell back down again, exceptions being Nott, who evidently had at least flown before, Snotlout, who looked constipated he was concentrating so hard, and Jack.

Jack wasn't sure what he was doing differently than everyone else, but it felt easy, just like sitting normally. Madam Flora looked excited.

"Look at what these three boys are doing, and try to copy. It's all about balancing."

It took everyone a while to even get up in the air without falling, during which time Jack tried to move around until he got the hang of it, which didn't take long.

"How're you doing this?" hissed Merida, whose face was turning the color of her hair in frustration. She had made it to the air, but every move she made cause the broom to jerk violently.

"I dunno," said Jack truthfully. "I just am."

Madam Flora flew over to him. "Have you ever flown before, boy?"

"No ma'am. First time."

She whistled. "That's pretty impressive. Would you and the others who are able to stay afloat like to toss this ball around?"

Jack nodded but Hydrus flew in and took the ball before he could grab it. Hydrus was probably the next best flier, but Jack noticed that his legs were shaking and he had to think about it.

"Catch this!" Hydrus lobbed it at him but Jack shot up and snatched it, tossing it easily in turn to Stuart, who hogged it with the other Gryffindors for a while. Eventually, Hydrus leaned in and grabbed it back, promoting a fiercer game. It didn't take many people to notice that Jack managed to catch every shot thrown at him.

"You're moving around like a ballerina!" called out Hydrus, with a sneer.

Jack grinned. "Least I don't look like I'm about to puke whenever the broom moves too fast."

Hydrus was getting angrier now. He couldn't lose a stupid game of catch with a muggle born, not after bragging so much. He thew the balls with a lot more force and got even more frustrated when Jack caught them started to go higher and higher, ignoring all the other players. Everyone's eyes were on the two Slytherin boys.

Finally, he got so upset he flew straight upwards and threw the ball as hard as he could, much further than either of them had tried.

"There's no way you can get that!" He yelled as Jack followed it with his eyes.

Jack didn't listen and he started to fly; this wasn't just hovering, he was actually flying, and fast too. He shot like a bullet down in a dive, he could hear boys yelling and girls screaming but blocked it out. This was _wonderful_. He didn't have to think he just let the wind push him at high speed to the tiny ball. It was close to the ground, but Jack wasn't about to let it fall. Five feet away, four, three, two, one, inches, and he had it in his sweaty palm and shot back up, doing a backwards turn while he was at it. He didn't even feel the need to hold on, so he didn't, just throwing all caution to the wind before gliding easily back to the crowd of astounded first years.

"That was..." Madam Flora cleared her throat. "Very reckless of you. But also very, very good."

Jack turned little red as he softly landed. Suddenly, on the ground, he felt a lot heavier and his legs felt shaky. "I just...knew what to do." He said sort of lamely.

Madam Flora chuckled a little. "You certainly did. That actually concludes our lesson for the time being. Mr. Frost? Will you accompany me?"

Gulping, Jack followed her, sneaking a look at Merida who looked flabbergasted, Flynn and Horace who looked impressed, and Hydrus looked like he swallowed a large lemon.

He didn't say anything but just trotted behind the older woman, who was was walking quite quickly with some purpose. He wasn't going to get punished, was he? No, that wouldn't make sense. It had been Nott who threw it so far. Now, thinking back, he couldn't believe he dove for that ball when it was so close to the ground. He could've been killed!

Madam Flora stopped short and Jack nearly ran into her as she rapped a door three times in quick, successive motion.

It opened and Professor Mirage stepped out, look about as puzzled as Jack felt. "Flora?"

"I've found you a Seeker."

Mirage looked confusedly at Jack, back at Flora, and then back at Jack again. "You're kidding." she said. "He's a first year."

"He's got natural talent." said Flora. "Took a fifty foot dive like it was nothing then flipped upside-down and didn't even hold on."

Mirage's eyes widened. "Ababwa is in my class right now, I'm sure he won't mind being pulled out. Wait right here."

She vanished and then reappeared with a muscular teen Jack had seen around Jasmine. "Ali, Madam Flora says she's got you a Seeker."

Ali's expression changed into one of cautious excitement. "Really, Flora?"

"That's Madam Flora, to you." sniffed the flying instructor, but she couldn't hide her smile. "You won't be disappointed. I'll speak to Professor North immediately about allowing us a little flexibility on the rule against first years."

Mirage's eyes glinted and she looked Jack over once more.

"He's got the right build." said Ali, pacing back and forth. "Teach, think he could match Pan?"

"Let's hope so. I don't plan on being defeated this year." said the teacher, almost dangerously.

Jack gulped. Flying was one thing, but he didn't even know what being a "seeker" meant. Ali seemed to anticipate this.

"Can you meet me at the pitch later tonight, right after dinner? I'd like to see you for myself." He suddenly grinned. "I'm the Slytherin Captain, by the way. Resident sports obsessor."

"Let's get back to class." said Mirage pointedly, pulling him away from Jack. Ali didn't look like he minded much.

"See you this evening!"

"Right..." said Jack quietly, and once he was alone he let out the breath he had been holding. Seeker... he didn't even know who to tell. He knew for sure he wanted to avoid the Slytherin Common Room, so he climbed up towards to Owlrey. This was definitely news to write home about.

Hiccup happened to be headed to the same location, although his letter didn't so much as contain good news as sort of mediocre news. He had penned it during lunch and wasn't overly pleased with the result:

_**Dear Dad,**_

_**Enjoying Hogwarts a lot. Know you weren't too pleased I ended up in Ravenclaw, but I'm doing well in all my classes and have high marks. I've made a few friends, one of them named Jack. Even Merida isn't as bad as I thought she would be. Hope you're doing well and that the dragons haven't eaten you yet. **_

_**See you in December, **_

_**Hiccup**_

Hiccup knew very well that his dad didn't care about marks or friends or anything other than dragon killing. Still, how could he write in a letter that he was frankly awful at anything that required too much violent passion, which the other Berk kids were stuffed full with?

He sighed as he walked into the Owlrey, looking for a suitable owl to do the job, and another familiar person was in there, presumably doing the same.

"Hey Jack."

"Hiccup!" Jack looked a little windswept. "You'll never guess what just happened."

After telling him the story, Hiccup was properly shocked, probably more than Jack himself. "First years _never_ make the team." He said, eyes round. He had been one of the few in his class to manage to stay afloat as well, but only with enormous concentration.

Jack gestured to the letter he was writing. "I don't really know how to tell my mum that." He said slowly. "I'm afraid she'll just freak out. Rosie'll find it interesting, at least."

"That's your sister, right?"

Jack nodded. "Guess I'd better send it anyway." He addressed it, sealed it, and sent it on its way. He then watched the owl flutter away and had a sudden, intense desire to fly again. It was so strong, Jack wondered if he actually needed a broom, before dismissing that thought as rather silly.

While Jack and Hiccup were in the Owlrey, Rapunzel was writing a letter of her own in the Hufflepuff Common Room.

_**Dearest Mother,**_

_**Nothing much has changed since my letter a few days ago except that I'm growing to love Hogwarts more and more! Almost everyone is very nice, and the people that aren't nice aren't in my house. I really like being a Hufflepuff, even though you called them "The Dumb House" when you last wrote. It's so wonderful to be able to make friends and I've really enjoyed learning new spells, though none of it is as easy as what you taught me. **_

_**I can't wait to tell you even more when Christmas time comes around. Maybe I'll get to show you some of the things I've learned!**_

_**Love you so much!**_

_**Rapunzel **_

Rapunzel sighed and put it in the envelope, wondering why she even bothered. She didn't understand why her mother was being so mean. Did she really think she belonged at home forever? Hogwarts was where she belonged!

"What're you sighing about?" asked Tooth, smacking her gum loudly. "Don't get down! We've only been here for three weeks; the hard stuff hasn't even started yet."

Rapunzel didn't really know how to explain her relationship with her mother to Tooth, whose own parents got along brilliantly and sent her candies every Friday and were thrilled when she got in Hufflepuff. "Right," sad Rapunzel, staring at the flickering flames in the fireplace, wondering if anyone else was starting to feel more at home at Hogwarts than they ever had before.

OoO

_**I call this one the "letter" chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed it! To answer a question, Jack's talents will be discussed later on. As far as them all being first years, well, plot convinence I suppose :) Thanks to all who left messages, I really appreciate them. Until next week,**_

_**Kay**_


	7. Chapter 7

Hiccup wasn't sure what Jack would do without him, but it would probably involve flunking out of school. The addition of Quidditch practices three nights a week made him not only unwilling to do homework, but almost unable.

It was nearing the end of October and leafs the color of fire fell to the earth before getting crunched and stepped on by students in dash from the greenhouses to the castle. The two boys were sitting in the library mostly dominated by older students who seemed on the brink of a nervous breakdown. One even came over and snapped at them, asking why two first years weren't "studying" in their common room, before noticing the different colored robes and walking away in surprise. This was the usual reaction.

Hiccup didn't really understand people's confusion. If Ravenclaw was supposed to be smart and Slytherin was supposed to ambitious, well, didn't that have a lot of overlap? And he couldn't help but remember the sorting hat's words, that he and Jack would've done well in Gryffindor.

"Weren't you the one saying we needed to focus?" asked Jack, looking pointedly at an Astronomy essay due in... eight hours.

Hiccup sighed and flipped the page in his textbook. "Yeah, yeah. I'm looking."

"Why would he assign an essay on the difference in orbit of nine planets? There's hardly anything to write about."

"Well," Hiccup tried to sound a tad more confident than he was. "We can mention the elliptical orbits and I think the orbits of Uranus and Neptune cross...or is it Neptune and Pluto?"

Jack groaned. "I'm never going up into space, what's the use of learning this?"

"Who knows? You like flying so much, maybe it could happen." There hadn't been anyone in Hiccup's group that instantly grasped it like Jack, but Hiccup himself found that with some thinking, flying wasn't all that difficult.

"Can I just write 'I have no idea' on the paper and turn it in?"

"Do you want him to give you a negative score?" asked Hiccup without looking up from the textbook.

Jack was trying to balance his quill on his nose. "This is _boring_." The quill suddenly fell off his nose and he looked wide eyed at Hiccup. "Do they celebrate Halloween here?!"

"Come again?"

"Halloween!" Jack had brightened up. "You know, with bonfires and dressing up in terrible masks to frighten away evil spirits and playing pranks on neighbors and throwing flour and demanding sweets?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Not ringing a bell. We don't really celebrate the normal holidays on Berk. We just celebrate the solstices and equinoxes and, more frequently, successful dragon counterattacks."

"Oh, it's one of my favorite holidays!" Jack's excitement was infectious. "It's time for practice anyway, I'll ask Ali. See you tonight!" And with that, he was off.

"Crazy kid," muttered Hiccup, rewording what a book called _Ordinary and Extraordinary Objects_ had to say about orbits.

"Who's crazy?"

Hiccup looked up. It was Belle, one of the Prefects, looking as though she was done trying to concentrate. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

Belle laughed lightly and closed her textbook. "I could've moved. It's ridiculous how much work I've got piled up that I'm not interested in doing."

"Right. Sorry." said Hiccup awkwardly. He felt bad for the Fifth years and dreaded being one, although he was four whole years away.

"Do you need help with that?" asked Belle. "I'm rather good at Astronomy." She paused before shrugging. "Or, at least as good as Professor Black allows us to be."

Hiccup smiled, a little nervously, but flipped through what he had to do. "Actually, Astronomy is boring but I think I get it. If you're any good at Defense on the other hand..."

Belle winced a little. "I'm not awful or anything... I just don't..." she sighed. "It's not my best subject either, but I can handle some First Year work. Let's look at it."

"You don't mind?"

"I need the review anyway."

Belle scooted up next to him, looked at the textbook with almost-nostalgia, and started to go through. Hiccup found that trying to tackle problems the way Gobber instructed wasn't useful in the slightest and that Belle's analytical approach made a lot more sense.

Little did he know he was being watched by none other than two people who had so far excelled at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and who weren't exactly spying, just observing.

"Who's he talking to?" whispered Astrid.

Merida squinted. "I don't know." she said, peering over a row of books. "Looks like an older student, though."

"Why are we doing this?"

Merida sighed. "Because my mum wrote in my last letter to watch out for him. Apparently Professor Gobber wrote his father that he wasn't doing well in the class, which is true, and his father wrote my father who passed it on to mum who passed it on to me."

"I still don't get why you're actually listening to her," said Astrid. "From what you've said, you never listen to your mother."

"She won't let me try out for archery if Hiccup fails the class," admitted Merida. "Although why that's my responsibility, I have no idea."

Astrid, meanwhile, was still staring at the two. "Ravenclaws and their books," she scoffed. "C'mon, let's get out of here. Libraries are weird."

The Gryffindor girls left quickly, entering the busier, louder hallways with relief.

"Did you see Jack Frost earlier? Before that girl started talking to Hiccup?" asked Merida.

"Yeah, why?" Astrid's face broke into a grin, or as much of a grin as she could muster without actually moving her mouth. "Sounds like you've got an obsession."

"Do not!"

"Then why do you care?"

Merida bit her lip. "I've been wanting to ask him how he flew so easily. I keep wanting to in Astronomy but I don't want anyone else to be there." she shuddered. "Imagine, me sounding like I'm asking for help. Which I'm not."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." said Astrid, without offering any advice.

Two days later, on the 31st of the month, Merida still hadn't thought of a way to ask without sounding weak. That day also happened to be one of her least favorite holidays, a holiday neither Rapunzel nor Hiccup had celebrated, and Jack's favorite: Halloween.

"Can you stop bouncing up and down like you're six years old?" she hissed during History of Magic.

Jack's eyes were practically mirrors they were so shiny. "I'm excited for the feast!" he half whispered back. "Halloween with _real_ ghosts! Although I'm a little disappointed there's no bonfire..."

Merida was too, though she didn't admit it. "I'd think you'd get sunburned if you got too close to a bonfire."

"Then I'll stay away from you and your hair." said Jack impishly.

God, why was he so quick? Still, Merida, loath to show amusement, turned her back to take up a conversation with Astrid. Unfortunately, Astrid was asleep.

"Everyone in this room is going to fail this class." she said, in wonder of why Binns hadn't been fired yet.

"That would be pretty unfortunate." agreed Jack, but not looking too bothered. "At least Hiccup and I won't. He takes great notes and lets me read them."

"Think he'd let me read them, too?" asked Merida, the words out before she could stop them.

Jack looked surprised. "Probably. He might grumble but I bet he would."

"I'd take notes but..." she gestured hopelessly to her page which started out nice but gradually transformed into a field of targets with a girl shooting arrows. It wasn't a pretty drawing, but it looked accurate.

"Like archery?"

Now it was Merida's turn to light up. "Love it." she said. "It's my favorite thing ever."

"I've never done it." said Jack.

"You've never flown before and you were pretty good at that, from what I saw."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't think you can just pick up a bow and suddenly shoot well, right? Flying's a little different."

This was her chance. "Then what's flying like? How do you do it so well?"

He didn't answer for a second, choosing instead to stare off into space. "I...I don't know." said Jack, finally. "I feel the wind around me and my body just wants to go higher and higher...I don't really think about it."

"That's weird," said Merida. "Cool, but weird."

The class ended abruptly and Jack looked quickly at Merida. "See you at the feast?"

"Yeah," she said, somewhat distractedly as she was waking up Astrid. "Try not to pee your pants in excitement."

But he had left already, fast as a shadow. Merida sighed, picked up her stuff, and dragged a half-asleep Astrid out of the room.

She did indeed see him at the feast and found herself just as enthralled with the decorations in the Great Hall as he was. Even someone who hated the holiday would've found it mesmerizing: thousands of live bats flew in low clouds, just above the floating candles and glowing pumpkins, and food appeared on their golden plates, as it had for the sorting ceremony.

"What _is_ all this stuff?" asked Astrid in wonder, captivated by the eerie glow.

"It's for Halloween," said Merida, before remembering they didn't celebrate it on Berk. "Which is a holiday where even the Muggles celebrate magic. Personally, I've always found it irritating on account of my brothers who always play tricks, but this is pretty neat."

"Alright," said Astrid, sitting next to Ruffnut. "Then let's eat!" She scooped out some mashed potatoes and poured gravy over them.

Merida joined both girls in their quest to stuff their faces, after quickly looking over at a certain boy sitting at the Slytherin table. A thought occurred to her sort of suddenly: if today was the 31st, then she would see Jack fly very soon indeed in the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match in about a week's time. That was sure to be an interesting game.

OoO

A week later, Rapunzel had never seen so much animosity between people of different houses. This whole Quidditch thing was starting to feel to her like a dangerous division in the school. When she voiced these concerns to Tooth, she didn't get much of a response.

"Oh, it's always been like this. Or, at least, that's what my mum told me. It doesn't get as bad when the other houses play, but Slytherin and Gryffindor always hate each other."

"Why?"

"Why?" scoffed Tooth. "Because they're so different! Different temperaments, you know? We always root for Gryffindor, by the way, unless they play Hufflepuff, and they usually do the same for us. Or, that's what my mum told me, anyway."

Rapunzel frowned. "But I have a friend on the Slytherin team. Can't I root for him?"

Clearly, Tooth hadn't thought about this. "I've got it," she said finally. "We'll just go in our Hufflepuff robes and sit with the other First Years. It'll be so loud, no one will notice who you cheer for."

"Sounds alright with me!" said Rapunzel with a smile, throwing on her robes and sticking a daisy in her hair.

The two girls walked with the others in a yellow and black huddle to the enormous Quidditch Pitch, where every other student seemed to be as well. It had gotten cold very quickly and Rapunzel shivered a little as she made her way to the high stands. She spotted a bit of blue in the Hufflepuff section as they drew closer, but it wasn't until she was a few feet away that she saw who it was.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup turned around, looking lost, but smiled upon seeing Rapunzel. "Hey, how're you doing?"

"I'm cold and excited." said Rapunzel, finding a spot next to him for herself and Tooth. "Are you lost?"

Hiccup shook his head and looked furtively around. "No, I'm trying to avoid Fishlegs. If I hear one more trivia fact..." He trailed off, but no doubt had something violent in mind.

The pitch started to grow quiet as Madam Flora came out, and then a voice was magnified throughout the arena, magically louder.

"GREETINGS ALL TO THE VERY FIRST QUIDDITCH PATCH OF THE YEAR!" roared the booming voice of someone who sounded very excited. "ARIEL WEASLEY HERE, COMMENTATING!"

Rapunzel leaned over and saw a pretty girl with dark, red hair in a box next to Professor Mode. The next second, there was a very loud whistling sound from the referee, and fifteen brooms rose into the air. She scanned the air for Jack and saw him mounted on his broom, looking a little nervous but mostly very excited.

"Have you ever seen him fly before?" asked Hiccup. "From what I hear, he's pretty good."

Rapunzel was about to say 'Never', but she was distracted, not by the game, but how effortless Jack looked in the air. She wasn't the only one who noticed either.

"The new Slytherin seeker, mind you, is only a first year! Learned how to fly less than two months ago! How's that for talent?" said Ariel's enchanted voice. "Aaaaaand Lee takes the ball for Gryffindor, flying down the field-"

Rapunzel tried to watch the game, she really did. It was exciting and viscous and she didn't know what was happening most the time, but for some reason, Jack was distracting her. She didn't understand. He had started flying the same time she did, yet he made it look so easy! Everyone in her class found it hard even to float in midair, but here was Jack, floating a hundred feet up in the air.

"So why is he looking around?" asked Rapunzel.

Hiccup frowned. "I think he said something about being the Seeker which I guess means you look for stuff?"

"You two are terrible," said Tooth. "See the three on each team trying to score goals? Those are the Chasers. The person protecting the goal is the Keeper, the two flying around hitting balls with bats are the Beaters, and the Seekers have to look for the Golden Snitch."

"What?"

Tooth sighed. "Both of you aren't even Muggle-born. The Snitch is this tiny, gold ball that flies around and the Seeker that catches it gets 150 points for their team and the game ends."

"That sounds important." said Rapunzel. "So he's looking for the Snitch."

"I would hope so." said Hiccup, squinting and looking up. "Although how he could see it, I have no idea."

Suddenly, both boys above the crowd dove sharply and starting flying fast. Ariel was quick to report.

"And we have both Seekers on the move! I repeat, both Seekers on the move! First-year Frost for Slytherin and Third-year Pan for Gryffindor, on the hunt!"

But while the Seekers were looking for the Snitch, the other players continued to fight. Rapunzel watched Jack fly intently; he seemed so totally focused. Both him and Pan looked they could've flown without brooms they were moving so fast.

But only one of them could take the Snitch, and as they got closer to the ground, Pan seemed nervous. At the last possible moment, he shot upwards while Jack thew out his arms, so close he could hear the wings fluttering, and clutched his hand around the struggling ball before flying up in joy.

Rapunzel and Hiccup cheered loudly, and even Tooth seemed excited. The Slytherin House roared with approval, a big crowd of green and silver people and flags. "Oh, he looks so pleased!" said Rapunzel about Jack, who was being congratulated by his team. "Let's go talk to him!"

"Zel, wait." said Hiccup. "Maybe later."

"Why?"

Hiccup hesitated. "Well... He's with his House now. It might be weird if two kids from the other houses go down there. Some people get really touchy about Houses."

"It shouldn't matter." said Rapunzel, but she knew he was right. The only people who looked happy were dressed in green, the only people on the field were dressed in green, and she wasn't wearing green. "He flew so well!"

"He was brilliant." agreed Hiccup, staring somewhat wistfully at the sky. "Absolutely brilliant."


End file.
